We started running away as those cops closed in on us. Which was easier said than done, as more and more seemed to move in on us. As we ran away from the Tardis, we ran into a cop car, of which its occupants immediately got out and went after us. We ran in another direction, but as we neared the end of that street, there were more police vehicles awaiting us. We were lucky to find one dead-end valley, where we could hide in a container. While that was enough to fool them into thinking we vanished into thin air and so leave us alone, we all knew that this was only temporary.
"Is this really the extent of Earth's law enforcement?" Maen asked.
"It's the early nineties." I remarked.
"What got them turned against us anyway?" the Doctor asked, "First a man with a warrant to look inside the Tardis, then the police setting a perimeter around it, and now they're acting like we're wanted criminals?"
Almost as if to answer our question, my phone rang. But since it was the Doctor who had it, he answered. As soon as he recognized the voice, he turned on the speaker: "Let this be a demonstration of our power. Unless you give us what we want, we will send the police after you again."
"Listen to me." the Doctor replied, "Even if I wanted to give you what I want, I can't."
"And why is that?" Toby asked.
"There is only one place where you can find another Tardis, and that's my home planet." the Doctor replied, "But they are at war right now. So unless you want to enter a war zone..."
"We have no problem with war zones." Toby replied, "We have seen many more, past, present and future. We have even seen the Ancient Romans fighting a war with soldiers from the first World War."
"Don't remind me." the Doctor said, which had me confused, "But have you ever seen a war that affects the very fabric of time and space? That if it goes on like it does, it may cause the destruction of the universe?"
The look that appeared on Maen's face pretty much summed up what I was thinking. So there was a war going on somewhere, and yet the Doctor wasn't there to fight it? He risked his life, and ours, to stop the war between the Cylons and the Colonials, he stopped the Jedi from using the Force too much, and yet he's not stopping his own people from tearing the universe apart?
"Hang on one minute." Toby said, and followed this with static.
"Doc?" I had my brows raised.
"I know what you're thinking." he replied, "If the fate of the universe hangs in the balance through that war I just mentioned, why am I not fighting it?"
"The thought crossed my mind." I replied.
"Actually, I was wondering how your people could possibly be involved in such a severe war." Maen said.
"You're both right in thinking that." the Doctor admitted, "My people were among the oldest and wisest in the universe. They would have avoided a war like this if they could."
"So what happened?" Maen asked.
Before the Doctor could say anything at all, something moved underneath the garbage. We all looked, and to our wonder, something crawled out. It looked like a man, but with a white beard and a funny hat. It almost looked like a gnome.
"Hello." it said, with a voice similar to Toby's, "Please follow me."
It then returned to where it came from. Not sure what to think of this, I didn't do anything. But the Doctor soon enough started to remove some of the garbage, until he stumbled upon what looked like a blue light.
"What is that?" Maen asked.
"It must be where that little man came from."
"Think this is one of Toby's people?" I asked.
"Must be." the Doctor answered, "Question is why?"
"Why what?" Maen asked.
"Why is he inviting us to follow him?" the Doctor explained, "If these people are who I think they are, they have done everything they could so they would never be found. Why are they letting us follow them into their homes?"
"Everything will be explained as soon as you arrive." Toby answered. I had almost forgotten we were still on the phone with him.
"What will happen to Emma while we're gone?" the Doctor asked.
"As long as you behave, she'll be fine." was the answer.
"Now I know how the Empire must have felt." Maen said.
"How do you mean?" I asked her.
"Remember that war that was fought in my galaxy a hundred years ago?" she asked and I nodded, "Helping us in winning that war was a race of people, who are about half our size, look like cuddly puppets, and were armed with nothing but rocks and catapults."
I could see what she meant. Such a powerful empire was defeated by what sounded like an army of teddy bears. And now the Doctor was being controlled by beings that were even smaller. Still, the Doctor disconnected the call, then pressed a few buttons on my phone before giving it back to me. After that, he gave a key to Maen. I recognized it to be the key to the Tardis.
"You two stay here, and see if you can find a way inside the Tardis again."
"What?" both Maen and I shouted in unison.
"Wherever they're taking me, I cannot leave the Tardis unprotected." the Doctor explained, "You two have to look after it, and see if you can take it back by any means necessary."
"Any?" I questioned, "Even if it means changing history?"
"If my theory is correct, you should not worry about that." the Doctor replied.
"What theory?" I asked, but the Doctor had already crawled into that blue light, which then vanished.
"Hate it when he's being so vague." I grumbled.
"So, what do you suppose we do?" Maen asked.
"What are you looking at me for?" I questioned in return.
"You know this planet better than me."
"But I don't know these Little People." I replied, "I have no idea about the extent of their powers. For all we know, anything we do now will alert them of... whatever plan we cook up."
"Maybe." Maen agreed, "But if the Doctor is with them, he'll probably find a way to leave them too preoccupied to bother with us."
I sighed: "Nice to see you're being confident for both of us."